


Strings

by BunniesofDoom



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Friendship, Penny Polendina Needs a Hug, Spoilers: Volume 8 (RWBY), Volume 8 (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:26:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28571475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunniesofDoom/pseuds/BunniesofDoom
Summary: The moment Penny wakes up again, Ruby knows that something is wrong.
Relationships: Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose
Comments: 2
Kudos: 36





	Strings

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this while I was traveling yesterday and I'm tired of looking at it so I'm just going to post it here. Includes my attempt to write a fight scene so I'm sorry in advance. Based on an idea from tsundere-bellwether that I saw on tumblr. Spoilers for the first half of volume 8 ahead, so beware!
> 
> Enjoy!

The moment Penny wakes up again, Ruby knows that something is wrong.

Her movements as she goes to sit up are all wrong, jerky and robotic as opposed to the fluid grace that her friend usually moves with. Instead of their usual vibrant, beautiful green, her eyes are a blank, empty red.

"I'm so sorry, Ruby," Penny whispers. She sounds so small and sad and scared. Ruby never wants to hear her friend sound like that ever again.

And then Penny attacks.

If Ruby had moved a fraction of a second slower, she would have been skewered by one or more of Floating Array's blades. Instead, she ducks under the barrage of swords and uses her semblance to get some breathing room.

Behind her, she hears Weiss and Blake's shouts of alarm, and the sounds of their respective weapons being put to work.

"What's going on?" Weiss calls over her shoulder as she hastily creates a wall of ice to shield her and Blake.

"I'm not sure!" Ruby yells back. "Something's wrong with Penny." Obviously, she thinks to herself, narrowly dodging a blast from Penny's laser attack. "I'm going to try leading her out of here, get us some more space!"

As spacious as Weiss' bedroom is, it's still nowhere big enough for an all-out battle. Especially with Nora lying unconscious on the bed, unable to defend herself or get out of the way. As much as Ruby wants to figure out what's going on with Penny, she needs to bring the fight somewhere else first.

Fortunately, the Schnee Manor has plenty of rooms that are large enough to serve as a battleground even if that's not their intended purpose. She takes off, using her semblance in short bursts, and begins to lead Penny out of the bedroom and towards the front hallway. Since Penny has kept her attacks focused mostly on Ruby, she'd predicted that the other girl would follow her if she left the room. She's pleased when she turns out to be right.

Well, maybe she shouldn't be too happy, Ruby muses to herself. Penny is a formidable opponent. It's something that Ruby has always admired about her friend—when she wasn't the one facing down the blades of Floating Array. Even if Penny is a little clumsier than normal, she still moves quickly enough that anyone other Ruby would struggle to counter her attacks.

They're all just lucky enough that whatever or whoever is controlling Penny right now doesn't seem to have access to the powers of the Winter Maiden, or Ruby wouldn't stand a chance. She manages to avoid taking any serious hits as she leads Penny along the hallway and down the staircase. Once they're inside the enormous front entrance hall, Ruby breathes a tiny sigh of relief. It's nice to finally have enough room to dodge attacks without constantly running into walls.

Now it's time for step two: figure out what's wrong with Penny, and free her from whatever is controlling her. And quickly.

Ruby looks up in time just to see Penny charge directly at her, weapons raised. She scrambles to get out of the way, scolding herself for getting distracted. Just before Penny can land a hit on her, she runs headfirst into a wall of ice.

Backup has arrived. Out of the corner of her eye, Ruby spots Blake scrambling into position.

"Don't just stand there!" Weiss scolds her sharply, before summoning a fire glyph. Steam fills the air as she attempts a solo version of her and Yang's freezer burn attack, but unfortunately the diversion doesn't work. Weiss yelps as Penny whirls to face her—only to be stopped when the ribbon of Blake's weapon catches around one of her swords, preventing her from moving. Weiss takes the opportunity to get out of range, using several glyphs to cover the ground quickly until she's halfway across the room.

Penny's face remains vacant, but she makes a noise that sounds like a robotic growl as she tries to yank herself free. Neither Blake nor her weapon falter, though, and the ribbon keeps Penny tethered in place, just as the wires of her swords keep them attached to their owner.

That's it, Ruby thinks to herself. The wires. Penny's stolen sword.

An idea quickly forms in her mind. They'll need perfect timing to pull this off, but if they can manage it, Ruby is pretty sure that Penny will be freed. And even if she isn't, at the very least, she'll be a lot less dangerous with her weapons detached.

It's worth a shot.

"Cover me!" she shouts to her team. "I've got a plan!"

Upon seeing her friends determined nods, she starts to set her plan in motion. Once Penny is completely focused on Weiss and Blake, she takes a deep breath, gauges the distance between her and her friend, and activates her semblance. Speed is of the utmost importance here, so she pours more effort than usual into her semblance as she vanishes into a cloud of rose petals.

Her efforts pay off. Ruby materializes directly behind Penny less than a second later, before her friend can even notice her moving. Before Penny even has time to react, Ruby swings Crescent Rose down and severs the wires connecting her friend to Floating Array. The swords crash to the ground with a loud clattering of metal, but Ruby pays them no mind, too busy focusing on her friend's reaction.

As soon as her strings are cut, Penny makes a small, pained noise and goes completely still. A moment later, when she slowly turns to face Ruby, the motion is fluid and graceful. Her eyes are no longer an angry red, instead back to their usual brilliant green. The blank expression on her face has been replaced with one of absolute horror.

"Ruby, I am so sorry—" Penny begins in a small voice. She's interrupted by Ruby lunging forward, flinging herself at her chest and wrapping her arms around her in a hug.

"I'm so glad that you're okay, that we were able to get you back," Ruby babbles in relief as Penny slowly brings her own arms up to return the hug.

"But I attacked you, I could have hurt all of you," Penny protests, taking a step back and tugging herself out of Ruby's arms. "If I'd just fought harder maybe I could have stopped whatever was happening to me, I wouldn't have—"

"Penny," Ruby says gently, cutting her off for a second time. "This is not your fault. You can't blame yourself for being hacked or whatever they made you do. Blame Ironwood, or whoever did this to you. None of us are mad at you. You weren't in control."

Penny is quiet for a long moment. "Okay," she says quietly. "I'll try. Thank you, Ruby." She looks down at her scattered swords with a mournful expression on her face.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Ruby says, feeling a stab of guilt. She tries to imagine how she'd feel if something similar happened to Crescent Rose. "I figured that it was the best way to stop the hack, but—"

"No, no—" Penny waves her hands frantically. "I'm not upset about that. I'm grateful for you for freeing me. I just—" she gestures her back. "I'm not sure how much help I can be in a fight without them."

Ruby steps forward and takes Penny's hands in her own. "That's not important right now. What matters is that you're with us now, and you're safe. The rest can wait. Besides, you're the Winter Maiden, and I've seen you do plenty of awesome stuff in fights without your swords."

"Of course." Penny nods, a tiny smile on her face. "It will just be strange to fight without them."

"Well," Ruby crouches down and picks up one of the swords from Floating Array before placing it in Penny's hands. "There's more than one way to use a sword."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please comment and leave kudos if you liked it.


End file.
